The present invention is directed to a novel method and apparatus for handling pipe, and in particular, presenting drill pipe to drilling rigs, where the pipe may range up to about 30-40 feet in length, have diameters in the range of 3 inches and above, and weigh in the neighborhood of 500 pounds or more. The method and apparatus of the present invention could also be used for larger or smaller pipe, and the design of the essential components of the present invention readily enables that. For purposes of the description, and in the drawing figures which follow, the method and apparatus will be described with respect to handling pipe in the size and weight range as mentioned above.
There are numerous proposals in the prior art for handling pipe, but the present invention provides a simple, effective construction which is believed to be significantly advantageous. In its most essential form, the present invention includes an apparatus for handling pipe which includes only minimal moving parts, and the components are arranged for efficient operation; in particular, the present invention may be thought of as having a minimal number of essential components. The first is an elongate frame along which a power-driven carriage can reciprocally translate. Mounted on the carriage is a boom, connected to the carriage by a boom mount which is a pivot assembly. The boom is pivotal about a pivot axis defined by the pivot assembly, and the boom is positionable on the pivot assembly so that the boom will pivot at a selected position along its longitudinal axis.
This construction enables the boom to be pivoted to different heights, depending upon its mounting on the pivot assembly, in other words, the boom is pivoted relative to the carriage at a selected position along the boom's length. The boom carries a pipe carrier which may be rotated along a longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boom. Rigidly mounted elevator arms are connected to the pipe carrier for picking off pipe from a pipe rack or the like, and placing the pipe in the pipe carrier. The power-driven carriage may be advanced and the boom pivoted about the pivot axis to lower the rear of the boom and consequently raise its front end, and the front end of the pipe carrier to present a pipe to the floor of a drill rig.
While the above has been generally described, further more specific details of the present invention will be understood from a consideration of the brief description of the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which follows.